If voters had not approved the expansion of Idaho Medicaid to low-income residents, Idahoans would have spent tens of millions more to care for these patients.
If the state withdraws Medicaid coverage, Idahoans will end up spending nearly $78 million more because of the loss of federal funding, state officials told lawmakers on Monday.
Idaho Medicaid is a state-run health insurance program. For decades, it was provided only to adults with disabilities, low-income children, and sometimes their parents. Paid – about 70% to 75% of that depending on the year. Idaho’s Medicaid budget paid for the rest.
What about other low-income Idaho adults who couldn’t afford health insurance and weren’t eligible for Medicaid? When they needed medical care, the resulting medical bills were often unpaid – or , when they were paid, the money came from a hodgepodge of accounts funded by Idaho taxpayers.
When Idahoans approved the expansion with 60.6% of the vote in the 2018 election, Medicaid was opened up to previously uninsured Idahoans. Under provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government has committed to paying his 90% of the medical costs of these newly insured patients.
For years, lawmakers in Idaho chose not to expand Medicaid. Still, federal law required Idahoans to pay the federal budget for the expansion.
A 2018 ballot measure opened the program to more people and changed how we pay for health care in Idaho.
About 145,000 Idahoans are currently receiving coverage through expanded Medicaid.
“We know the state and counties can reduce the burden of helping the poor and the state can remove (the catastrophic medical expense fund) and the formerly state General Fund. It supports a healthy workforce, reduces healthcare costs and increases productivity,” said Idaho Medicaid administrator Juliette Sharon in a presentation to the Idaho House and Senate Committees on Health and Human Services. rice field.
As more people took out insurance for this program, Medicaid’s budget increased significantly because of their medical needs and medical costs.
But as Charron explained to members of the Idaho Legislature on Monday, Idaho taxpayers are actually paying less for health care for Idahoans. These patients may go to the hospital without Medicaid or need surgery or cancer treatment. But now their bill, she explained, is 90% covered by federal funds, instead of being paid solely by Idaho taxes or not paid at all.
Since Medicaid expanded, hospitals in Idaho have had to write off about $61 million in debt from outstanding bills, Sharon said.
The committee met Monday to outline the first three years of Idaho Medicaid expansion. The meeting is mandated by Idaho law, which requires legislators to “consider all financial, health, and other implications” of the expansion, and to the entire legislature “on whether to continue with the expansion.” to make recommendations.”
Voters approved a no-sideboard expansion, but state legislators ordered the Idaho Department of Health and Human Services to seek federal permission to add multiple sideboards and conditions to Medicaid coverage. . Nearly all of these waiver requests failed to get approval from the Trump and Biden administrations, Sharon explained.
Members of the Health and Human Services Board questioned Sharon about the cost of the expansion, how well it worked to keep Idahoans healthy, and whether it really provided Idahoans access to more care. In response to some questions, Sharon said the committee will follow up with more information as it continues to discuss the expansion during this legislative session.
For Idaho Medicaid and extended groups alone, pharmacies are the biggest expense. This includes diabetes care, psoriasis, psychiatric medications, seizure medications and cancer treatments. As Health and Human Services Director Dave Jeppesen explained to Congress’s Appropriations and Budget Committee last week, it’s largely due to new and expensive drugs.
